It was really fortunate that the carriage ‘fell.’

Because the guy who initiated this whole chaos didn’t have the same level of skill as the person who killed Duke Leontine.

They didn’t hit the bell on time so that the horse didn’t run straight to the wall and smash the whole carriage against it.

Even though the carriage that fell down the bridge wasn’t completely destroyed, it was much better than having a full-speed horse hurled you against the wall.

Not to mention the target was pretty tough.

“Cough, cough!”

Tidwell pulled himself from the carriage wreckage. The dust made him cough, but he was fairly okay.

Of course, he had experienced this kind of life-threatening accident several times, so he knew the position and spot that would be most protected.

He limped from being stuck in the rubble, and blood flowed from his head, so he wasn’t left unscathed.

The bloody odor pricked his nose each time he coughed. Maybe the inner part of his mouth burst due to the shock.

His ribs seemed to have been dislocated judging by how painful it was each time he coughed.

‘I’m glad it’s not completely broken.’

Why now of all times?

Tidwell coughed a few more times and spit blood as he limped over to the coachman’s location.

To be exact, toward a pile of rubble.

The coachman was definitely dead. There was nothing strange about it since he had been dragged by a horse running at full-speed and fell down the bridge.

But it was a tricky situation. Tidwell clicked his tongue without any sense of urgency.

‘I have to go to the Imperial Palace.’

He was unable to rest because even the slightest variable would bring a different outcome.

He pulled the dead coachman out, examined his arms and thought.

‘I’m sure it was done by an amateur.’

The sly underworld people wouldn’t make such a clamorous accident.

Tidwell was the perfect example of that. He always made it so subtle that there would never be any proof left on the scene.

Anyone with the knowledge wouldn’t use such a conspicuous method.

But using a bell?

Isn’t that too loud? It was very similar to his method, but it was overly complicated.

As if they didn’t care if they got caught!

“Ugh!”

He heard a groan erupt from behind him.

In a flash, Tidwell pulled a knife from his sleeve and swung the blade behind.

The knife definitely cut into something, but it couldn’t go deeper.

Because the man who had emerged from the shadows held his hand and took a few steps back. And there he heard the man exclaim, ‘Damn it!’

In his fading consciousness, Tidwell recognized the owner of that voice.

And his thought became a conviction the moment that mysterious person came out of the shadow.

Tidwell scoffed when he recognized that face.

“I was wondering who did this. Turns out it’s the duke’s own servant.”

“Shut up! How dare you say his name!”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see why I can’t do that. And also the reason why you’re doing this.”

“Ha, talk all you want. You filthy conman!”

An eerie light shone in Vincent’s eyes.

“Not only did you step into the family by deceiving the Duke, you also killed him! Did you think no one would know?”

There was something as eerie as his eyes in his hands.

Even though the hand holding the knife trembled like that of an amateur, his determination to kill remained strong.

“I will kill you and reveal to the world what you have done. That you are the Duke’s enemy!”

“I think you still have a long way before you can avenge him against his enemy.”

“Shut up!”

Furious at Tidwell’s provocation, Vincent charged ahead with a loud scream.

A healthy adult male was threatening him–but that was all there was to it.

A man who had never fought with a knife and had never killed someone was nothing but a clown for Tidwell.

He remained relaxed.

How many times do you think I have gone through this?

With a swift move, Tidwell dodged Vincent’s attack and kicked the back of his knee, knocking him into the creek.

Tidwell kicked the man who fell in the creek, trampled on him, picked up a huge stone and lifted it high as if about to smash it into his head.

It was an extremely natural set of actions.

There was no hesitation or concern.

Tidwell’s eyes were as blue as a corpse’s tongue when he tried to smash a rock against Vincent’s head.

It looked more eerie than Vincent’s murderous gaze earlier.

A clear intent to kill and an indifferent face devoid of any emotion. That was Tidwell’s bare face.

Vincent, with half of his face submerged in the creek, finally realized.

‘This, this bastard, to His Grace…!’

This bastard killed His Grace, and will kill me next!

He had expected it. Vincent had ignored Ravia’s advice that it would be dangerous to have an open war with Tidwell.

When he saw the horse start and run wild due to the bell sound, he ran down the clock tower and apologized to Ravia.

‘I’m sorry, my lady.’

For not listening to your advice, and leaving you as the only witness of your father’s death.

But even as the guilt weighed heavily on his mind, he couldn’t suppress his hatred.

Even if I die miserably, I will surely end his life!

He ran here with such a determined mind, but he didn’t expect that it’d end like this.

“AAAAGHH!”

Vincent couldn’t suppress his anger and avoided it with all his might.

But his dodge was futile.

Vincent couldn’t scream for even a second and fell headfirst into the creek.

The sound of gurgling muffled his screams. When he ran out of breath, Tidwell raised his head again before dunking it into the water until his forehead hit the creek’s bottom.

After so many repetitions, Vincent, who was about to pass out, was slapped on the cheek.

“Get your act together. It’s not like I’ve cut off your limbs, but you’re already this exhausted?”

“Cough, cough!”

“I was going to crush your head and throw you next to the coachman, but I have a question. You should answer me.”

Coughing up water, Vincent grit his teeth and gave Tidwell a fierce look.

“A bastard like you….cough…go to hell….”

“I’m sorry I can’t do that.”

Tidwell responded calmly and grabbed Vincent by the hair to slam his head against the rock.

“Just kill me! Do you think you’ll ever be forgiven for doing this! You abominable thing!”

“I want to ask you a question, but you talk a lot. If you don’t want me to cut off your limbs, then answer me properly.”

Following the chilling voice, he asked a question. Suddenly, as if there had never been any noise earlier, the area beneath the bridge was completely silent.

Phew.

Tidwell breathed out lightly through the cold air and rose.

“Is that so?”

One short phrase.

A dull, life-shattering noise ensued, and shortly after, one person hobbled away from the crash scene.

Two bodies were found in the carriage. Both were servants of Leontine, one of whom died while driving a horse, and the other was presumed to have died after his head was broken while traveling with his master.

* * *

He wanted to make sure.

Everything was done with one thing in mind.

Tidwell returned to the Leontine residence in a rented carriage.

He still carried the documents requesting the appointment of the next Duke Leontine and her representative.

Tidwell was still determined to go to the Imperial Palace even when he crawled out of the carriage.

There was nothing more important than that right now. Finding the culprit behind this accident was also something that needed to be done afterwards.

But he realized something he had overlooked while he was dealing with Vincent.

The similarity between the murder he committed and this accident.

He felt uneasy because of such a clever yet flashy method.

A bastard who was naive enough to think he could kill a person with just a knife wouldn’t have the ability to set up such an accident.

If so, there must be someone behind him.

Who was it? He didn’t need to ask to know the answer.

The person whose hand he kissed before leaving.

–Return safely.

Tidwell’s mind was caught by her concise and blunt words.

–I have something to tell you when you return.

When you return…

That is, if you can return….

Thinking about it, his chest felt like it was stabbed again, and each breath he took was painful.